SUMMARY Comprising the majority of leukocytes in humans, neutrophils are the first immune cells to respond to inflammatory or infectious etiologies and are crucial participants in the proper functioning of both innate and adaptive immune responses. From their initial appearance in the liver, thymus, and spleen at around the eighth week of human gestation to their generation in large numbers in the bone marrow at the end of term gestation, the differentiation of the pluripotent hematopoietic stem cell into a mature, segmented neutrophil is a highly controlled process where the transcriptional regulators C/EBP-α and C/EBP-ε play a vital role. Recent advances in neutrophil biology have clarified the life cycle of these cells and revealed striking differences between neonatal and adult neutrophils based on fetal maturation and environmental factors. Here we detail neutrophil ontogeny, granulopoiesis, and neutrophil homeostasis and highlight important differences between neonatal and adult neutrophil populations.

概括中性粒细胞由人类中的大多数白细胞组成，是第一个对炎症或感染性病因做出反应的免疫细胞，并且是固有和适应性免疫反应正常运转的关键参与者。从它们在人类妊娠第8周时最初出现在肝脏，胸腺和脾脏中，到足月妊娠结束时在骨髓中大量产生，多能造血干细胞分化为成熟的，分段的中性粒细胞是一个高度受控的过程，其中转录调节因子C /EBP-α和C /EBP-ε发挥着至关重要的作用。中性粒细胞生物学的最新进展阐明了这些细胞的生命周期，并揭示了基于胎儿成熟度和环境因素的新生儿和成年中性粒细胞之间的显着差异。